Environmental issues

The past two weeks have been interesting, and not in a good way. Our AC broke, our water pump decided to die, and my cat vanished. All of the above have been resolved finally, to our relief. But the one thing I noticed while all of these were going on was how it affected my writing.

I found that when it was blisteringly hot, as in even the box fans weren't keeping me cool (we got up to 106 F one day), I couldn't think. I just wanted to lay there and do nothing. I was having problems reading, let alone trying to get something written.

Now that things are mostly back to normal, I'm finding it easier to connect with life again. I realized that my environment plays a huge role in what I do and how I do things. The heat turned me sluggish. The water pump breaking sent me into an environment not my own. Losing my cat pulled a vital component out of my environment, which made things more difficult. (Reidar is home and fine. He just took a 4 day vacation. And we still don't know how he got where he ended up.)

I know I have environmental cues for when I'm out of the house that will trigger problems. Crowds of people can set me off. Loud noises bother me and I get anxious. Heat drains me and unless I find AC relatively soon after getting hot I get tired/irritable and am not a pleasant person to be around.

Our environment is a large part, I think, in how we react to things. If we're in our comfort zones it's easier for us to respond to stimuli. If something affects those comfort zones, people have a tendency to react in a negative fashion. The more uncomfortable a person becomes, the worse things get for them and possibly those around them.

What about you? How does your environment affect you? Is there something that will give you trouble every time?